06/25/2009

Gemischter Satz mit Schlag

Vienna has more than schlag, it has terroir. In fact the snow covered Alps stops at the Danube. It's almost like the mountain range gave a last burb and out of it emerged three defiant mounds of rock and loess. Kahlenberg, Nussberg and Bisamberg are just outside of city limits. Cool, no? 1400 of acres of vines, a third of the acreage of Long Island, are in pitching distance of the thriving city of Vienna, home of the Sacher Torte, home to Freud's favorite cafe and home to some of the best of Josef Hoffman's designs. It serves to reason that the end of the Alps has got to have something special down under. And it deserves respect. But driving through the vines I saw farming that made Champagne look biodynamic. Yes, it was that bad. Except of course for the exceptions. Perhaps because he's in biodynamic conversion, Wein winemaker Fritz Wieninger, has become a mentor to fledgling winemakers wanting to go chemical free. Part of this reawakening is a reinvigoration of a white field blend called Gemischter Satz. This GS, has always been the local glug of choice, especially in those Heurigens (those winery restaurants where schnitzel and GS go hand in hand). But the wine just didn't get a whole lot of respect, especially in a region where riesling and gruner are king. Now, this new breed of winemaker, the ones that believe organic or more is the way to go, are making the wines citified and cool. I was slated to lunch with one of them, Jutta Ambrositsch. Hopelessly lost, I arrived at the turn of the century, Scwarzen Kameel, soaked and forty-five minutes late. Ambrositsch, who looked no more than eighteen, sat quietly in a corner booth and was visably relieved when I showed up. So was I. She was a refugee from the graphic arts world. 'I needed to work in nature,' she told me, and started to play in the dirt in 2004. Wieninger actually donated 2.4 hectare to farm for the cause. She is going to start winemaking classes which I hope will not corrupt her instincts, but for now, Wieninger makes her wine. Yes, he yeasts, as most people there do. Yet, slow fermenters, her wines showed the quality of her passionate farming. The girl does good. She grows Gruners and Rieslings but it was her old-vine Gemischter Satz’s that spoke loudest to me. Hers comes from a group of vines near the Heurigen-rich town of Grinzing and planted with about twenty varietals. She's got two. My favorite was the alte reben, with two extra weeks of hang time. Gemischter Satz, Sommeregg, Reserve Alte Reben, 2008 This little puppy demanded attention. So I thought, I can do that. I'll give you some attention. The wine was intense, complex, bounced from this edge of mineral to honeysuckle with a touch of skunk. And that finish just didn't let go. Jutta's website

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I'm hunting the Leon Trotskys, the Philip Roths, the Chaucers and the Edith Whartons of the wine world. I want them natural and most of all, I want them to speak the truth even if we argue. With this messiah thing going on, I'm trying to swell the ranks of those who crave the differences in each vintage, celebrate nuance and desire wines that make them think, laugh, and feel. Welcome.

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